Tag Archive for music

This past Thursday, I headed to Philly’s dive Kung Fu Necktie to catch Richie Ramone and The Queers. The show was running really late, so I left for a bit and got there in time for Richie Ramone.

Richie Ramone:

For those who don’t know, Richie Ramone was the third drummer for The legendary Ramones during the 80s, playing on albums Too Tough To Die, Animal Boy, and Halfway To Sanity. Besides being the only Ramones drummer credited to completely write songs, Richie also has been touring for his solo releases.

I had the pleasure of catching him live during a blizzard last year, and was pretty stoked to be seeing him and his backing band again. Richie took the stage and switched between drumming while singing, and just doing vocals. Richie Ramone and crew played a lively set, with people singing along throughout to most of The Ramones hits. Sneaking in a few solo songs as well, the place finally got moving during “Wart Hog”. Always a solid and energetic set, go see Richie Ramone live if you get a chance. His ability to sing while drumming, and then switch roles to be an energetic frontman is impressive.

Highlights:
Blitzkrieg Bop
I Just Wanna Have Something To Do
Wart Hog
Somebody Put Something In My Drink
Smash You
Havana Affair

The Queers:

The Queers have been at it for a long time, and remain one of the more immature, brash, and fun punk bands around. Playing a more surfy Ramones influenced punk sound, it was clear that the place was pretty hyped for The Queers as a pit broke out through the majority of their set. Joe kept the banter to a minimum, playing without much of a real setlist and taking requests, saying this was a warm-up show for a bigger fest they were doing out west.

Always a good time, the band sounded tight as usual. If you dig real pop-punk at all, go catch these guys live.

Every now and then, something will happen in the punk and hardcore community that just reminds me what I love so much about it. This past Saturday was an excellent example of that. When Nate Gluck from NJ’s Ensign was diagnosed with cancer earlier this year, a bunch of bands and friends decided to throw him a huge benefit show to help pay the cost of the treatment. The fest (dubbed NateFest) was to take course over two days at GameChanger World in Howell, NJ and the lineup was fucking staaaacked.

When it was announced that Bigwig was to be playing on Saturday, I instantly had to go. Bigwig has been one of my favorite bands that I’ve been listening to for nearly 15 years now, yet even though I grew up in NJ somehow never got a chance to see live. Beyond stoked doesn’t even begin to describe how I was feeling. The fact that both Kill Your Idols and None More Black were also playing the show were huge bonuses to make for an amazing day.

I got to the venue, and if you’ve never been the layout are two opposing stages, while one band played the other set up so there was barely any wait times between sets. There was nothing but positive vibes at the show, and while the warehouse doesn’t have the best sound (ok it’s downright awful on the main stage), it was an amazing time.

None More Black:

I got there right in time for NJ/Philly favorites None More Black. Jason (ex Kid Dynamite) and crew took the stage and immediately broke into “Banned From Teen Arts”, their love/hate ode to NJ. None More Black played a no nonsense set, without any stage banter as they ripped through their catalog while plenty in the crowd were shouting along.

Always a solid set, I know they aren’t very active anymore… but a Philly church show again would be beyond fantastic.

Setlist:
Banned From Teen Arts
Sinatra After Dark
My Wallpaper Looks Like Paint
Mr. Artistic
Drop The Pop
Here Comes Devereux
I’m Warning You With Peace and Love
We Dance On The Ruins Of The Stupid Stage
Oh There’s Legwork

Mouthpiece:

Next up were NJ straight hardcore band Mouthpiece. Often seen as one of the more influential bands of the youth crew era, the band called it a day in 1996, but plays the occasional reunion show. People were losing their shit to them and while I never got too familiar with their music minus the one album I have, they put on a solid set.

For The Love Of and Strength 691 were up next, but I was waiting by the Bigwig stage since I’ve been waiting nearly 15 years for this show.

Bigwig:

Maybe it’s the fact I grew up in NJ, but Bigwig has always been one of my favorite bands and have been a constant that I listen to since I was just teen. To finally get to see them after thinking I would never get to was incredible. Clearly, I wasn’t the only one excited for them because as soon as they opened up into “Sink Or Swim” they had a pit open with us flailing about for the majority of the set, with plenty of people up front screaming along the words.

Vocalist/guitarist Tom seemed to be legitimately love being able to play New Jersey again, and the band was in all high spirits feeding off the crowd’s energy. Bigwig played an amazing set, with the majority coming off of their last 3 albums Stay Asleep, Invitation to Tragedy, and Reclamation (and of course Girl In The Green Jacket off of Unmerry Melodies).

How excited was I? Let me put it like this, when the band played one of my favorites “Flavor Ice”, I accidently came out of my stage dive/crowd surf retirement that I declared 5 years ago ever since I needed 20 screws in my arm due to a mishap at a Bouncing Souls show. It was like the 16 year old in me came out.

Easily my favorite set of the day, Bigwig needs to play more shows again. They put on an amazing set still.

Setlist:
Sink Or Swim
Sore Losers
Still
A War Inside
Flavor Ice
Outer Rings
Waste
Mr. Asshole
Numbers
Girl In The Green Jacket
Sell Out
Counting Down
Friends (I think they played this)

I had to grab some food during Indecision’s set, but made it in time to catch Grade.

Grade:

Next up were Canadian emo/hardcore/screamo/whatever Grade who played a very energetic set. The singer was all over the place, jumping around the stage…not bad for a band that originally called it a day back in 2002. While I never really was a Grade fan back in the day, I got to say, I really enjoyed their set a lot.

Grade played most of their third and most famous release Under The Radar, and had plenty of people in the crowd singing along and stage diving during their melodic songs.

Setlist:The Inefficiency of Emotion
Stolen Bikes Ride Faster
Seamless
Conceptualizing Theories in Motion
Termites Hollow
To Illustrate And Design Parameters
A Year In The Past, Forever, And The Future
Triumph and Tragedy
For The Memory Of Love
When Something Goes To Your Head

Sheer Terror:

Next up were 80s NY hardcore legends Sheer Terror who took the stage with a simple “We’re Sheer Terror, fuck you.” Admittedly, I’m not a huge fan of Sheer Terror, but I recognize how influential they were to New York hardcore bands. They played a unique style of hardcore at the time with heart-felt lyrics (just listen to the album Ugly And Proud) in a scene that was dominated with songs about straight edge, crews, and how great NYHC is, and they definitely had the fanbase there to rage for them.

A giant pit was open up throughout the majority of the set, and after they finished a decent amount of people left. The singer’s stage banter was cynical yet hilarious, poking fun of friends in other bands, etc.

I was pretty stoked for the last band of the night, NY’s Kill Your Idols. I’ve been a fan of them for a while now, but only getting to see them once at This Is Hardcore a few years back, and I had no idea how popular they were. The second these melodic hardcore legends came out and blasted into an intro straight into Falling, the place completely erupted and didn’t really let up for the rest of the night. With constant stage dives, pile ons, and flips over singer Andy West, he took it all in good stride even when he declared “someone just spit into my mouth.”

Playing a long and energetic set, the band played songs off most their releases with a heavy majority coming from This Is Just The Beginning and No Gimmicks Needed. Throwing in a few Minor Threat covers “to keep you interested”, human piles were forming throughout their set with the wildest being the closer “Can’t Take This Away” (although I probably lost it most to my personal favorite “Autumn”). I know that this could very well be Kill Your Idols last show, but I’m hoping they play again soon… even if they aren’t active anymore, they put on a hell of a set and still have us raging.

Setlist:
Intro
Falling
Hardcore Circa 99
What I’ve Become
Stop Comparing Us To Negative Approach
Wake Up Sheep
Enjoy The Show
Funeral For A Feeling
Only Dicks Don’t Like Black Flag
All Those Wasted Calling Cards
The Path
Green
Send In The Clowns
Cousin Fred
Remain
Cast Me Aside
Autumn
Chesterfield And Propagandhi
I Told You So
Right Now
Small Man, Big Mouth (Minor Threat cover)
Straight Edge (Minor Threat cover)
Grey Skies Ahead
Young (At Heart)
Words Without Action
Epilogue
Can’t Take This Away

This past Thursday, I headed out to Philadelphia’s Union Transfer to catch Jeff Rosenstock of Bomb The Music Industry/Arrogant Sons Of Bitches play a solo show supporting his new album We Cool? opening for Andrew Jackson Jihad.I got to the venue right around the middle of first band Chumped playing and the place was decently packed for being so early.

I’m not really all that familiar with Chumped besides the fact they are a female fronted pop-punk band out of Brooklyn. I didn’t catch enough of their set to really form an opinion either way, but it seemed like those in the crowd were definitely digging it. So if you’re into bands like Nona or Spraynard you’d probably dig these guys.

Jeff Rosenstock:

The main reason I came, I’ve been a fan of Jeff Rosenstock’s bands and have seen them countless of times over many years. While technically he was doing a “solo” tour, he had a backing band with him. It was a bit strange to be seeing him in such a big venue like Union Transfer, but they didn’t act out of place at all, immediately joking to the crowd “What’s up New Jersey?” (which elicited both plenty of boos and cheers) before breaking into We Cool opener “Get Old Forever.”

The crowd was especially hyped, with people breaking out into a pit immediately and stage dives abound. Jeff and crew played a bunch off the new album and some of his older solo stuff, with a decent chunk coming off of I Look Like Shit and the crowd didn’t really let up all night. One thing I have to say is he definitely has a mixed-age crowd. I didn’t realize it, but a lot of younger kids dig him (I always assumed only old heads who followed his other bands did). Definitely a good time, go see him if you get the chance.

The Smith Street Band are another one of those bands that get a lot of praise, but I never really got around to checking out. I was hanging in the back by the bar talking to some friends at this point after staying in the pit for Jeff Rosenstock, so I didn’t actually get to see them, but I did hear them. Hailing from Melbourne, Australia, The Smith Street Band played solid gritty rock tunes with ranging influences from folk punk to garage rock and even a bit of more Social Distortion type punk. I dug a few songs that I heard, and need to give them a proper listen sometime.

Andrew Jackson Jihad:

By the time Phoenix, Arizona’s Andrew Jackson Jihad took the stage, Union Transfer was pretty full. I honestly had no idea that these folk-punks were that big, and while I only knew a few songs here and there off some random EPs I have, their live set definitely made me a fan.

Armed with a variety of instruments including acoustic and electric guitars, a cello, drums, stand up bass, and keyboards the band played a very dynamic set to the incredibly responsive crowd. Their music reminded me a lot of Mischief Brew and Run, Forever.

Playing a majority of their set from off Knife Man and their latest Christmas Island albums, the band seemed in very high spirits and legitimately loved being there. The highlight was definitely their final encore, in which they did a sweet Slayer cover which had plenty of fans confused, but those who knew who it was were losing their shit. An incredible set, if you haven’t seen AJJ before then go do yourself a favor and catch them live.

Setlist:
The Michael Jordan Of Drunk Driving
Gift Of The Magi 2: Return Of The Magi
Hate & Kill
Hate Songs For The Brain
Hate Rain On Me
Kokopelli Face Tattoo
People II: The Reckoning
Love In The Time Of The Human Papillomavirus
Bad Bad Things
I Wanna Rock Out In My Dreams
Sense, Sensibility
Temple Grandin
Coffin Dance
American Tune
Fucc The Devil
You Don’t Deserve Yourself
Heartilation
Children Of God
Linda Ronstadt
Free Bird
Big Bird
South Of Heaven (Slayer cover)

This past Saturday, I headed down to Philadelphia’s infamous First Unitarian Church basement to catch favorite gypsy cabaret punks The World Inferno Friendship Society.

This was my first show back at the church basement since July when they stopped having as many shows there (for some sad reason, I love that place), and the first time I was seeing World Inferno at the church since 2011. I’ve seen them a handful of times since then, but a church show is always special (especially considering last time they headlined a show there the fire alarms went off).

The band was playing a string of shows to support their latest album This Packed Funeral. I got to the church only to miss the one last minute opener, and the place was at about half capacity so plenty of room to dance around.

The Brooklyn collective took the stage, and started straight into their call to arms “Tattoos Fade” which had everyone in the close knit crowd shouting along. I feel like the energy at this show was much higher than their recent Union Transfer shows, with plenty of people dancing around.

Vocalist Jack and crew played through a bunch of their older stuff, but had a pretty strong emphasis on the latest This Packed Funeral as expected. If you haven’t heard the album yet, it’s definitely a bit different than their other releases, but still incredibly catchy. As usual, the band was full of quips and stories for the crowd, with having members try to name 11 bands that are named after municipalities (I can think of 7…) While not the strangest Inferno show I’ve been to, things still got a bit odd when a drone was flying around the crowd and band with audience members taking swipes at it and the band trying to pay no heed while it circled them during their set.

A fun evening as usual, World Inferno always puts on an entertaining set.

Setlist (from what I remember, not in order):
Tattoos FadeJust The Best Party
The Elegant Solution
This Packed Funeral
Brother Of The Mayor Of Bridgewater
Dr Dracula Who Makes You Get High
Your Younger Man
The Apple Was Eve
Let’s Steal Everything
Jersualem Boys
Dolce Far Niente
American Mercurial
The Faster You Go The Better You Think
Cats Are Not Lucky Creatures
Thumb Cinema
Secret Service Freedom Fighting USA
Addicted To Bad Ideas

Call me old (actually don’t, fuck you), but I’ve been a fan Jeff Rosenstock’s music for a loooong time. From his time with Arrogant Sons of Bitches who I used to go see regularly to the very first day when he released Bomb The Music Industry’s first Album Minus Band LP, so naturally I was pretty excited about his newest release We Cool?

Although technically a ‘solo’ record (insert finger air quotes here), We Cool is actually the first album Jeff recorded with a band since the demise of Bomb The Music Industry, and while it’s not a BTMI project technically… the music sounds a lot like where Vacation left off and a perfect follow-up to it.

All 12 songs are incredibly different, yet they all fit together perfectly making for a cohesive album. You’ve got songs like “Hey Allison” and “You, In Weird Cities” leaning more towards the traditional punk side of things, “Nausea” being a catchy piano driven power-pop ballad, and “Novelty Sweaters” and “Hall Of Fame” sounding like pure Weezer-esque garage rock.

Lyrically, the themes are the same relatable issues that we’re used to from Jeff. Opener “Get Old Forever” starts the album off “When your friends are buying starter homes with their accomplishments, drinking at a house show can feel childish and embarrassing.” Possibly the most relatable line comes from “Nausea” with the chorus “I got so tired of discussing my future I’ve started avoiding the people I love.”

We Cool is definitely a damn solid album, and any fan of Jeff’s music should go check it out. It was a bit of a grower for me (just like Vacation), but I’m finding that I dig it more and more with each listen.

Philadelphia’s Ink & Dagger were one of the most influential and strangest bands to ever come out of the city of brotherly shove. Formed back in 1995 and disbanding in 1999 (and which vocalist Sean McCabe died shortly after at the young age of 27), the band is most famously known for on and off stage theatrics (the vocalist once through yogurt at hardcore vegan hate-edge band Earth Crisis) and horror themes written throughout their music. Their most famous, and my personal favorite is their Drive This Seven Inch Wooden Stake Through My Philadelphia Heart album which includes the EP of the same name and a previous “Love Is Dead.” While their later works expanded their style a bit incorporating more elements of prog-rock, their original 10 song compilation is a hardcore masterpiece.

Before Twilight was ever a thing, Ink & Dagger used to take the stage in full face paint and fake blood while vampires were a recurring theme in their music. The hardcore they played was incredibly dark and ambient, yet remained catchy through plenty of melodies. Songs like “Full Circle”, “Bloodlust”, and “Shadowtalker” show Ink & Dagger at their finest.

I’ve been listening to this one since I saw Paint It Black cover Full Circle back on Halloween, and it’s easily becoming one of my most played albums. Check it if you’re a fan of hardcore at all.

Ahhh… Superbowl Sunday. Where every American goes to their favorite punk house for a benefit show and watches some sick bands tear it up. I got to West Philly’s Golden Tea House a bit late and missed a bunch of the awesome bands (including a new band featuring Dan Yemin and Andy Nelson), but got there in time for Philly’s own Dark Thoughts.

Dark Thoughts:

This show was the kickoff for Dark Thoughts tour, and the 3 piece put on one hell of a show. I caught them back in November here when they played with Mean Jeans and Kepi Ghoulie, and this time around they were even tighter. Playing Ramones influenced punk rock, Dark Thoughts played most off of their 4 song demo (although the songs translate much better live). I said it before and I’ll say it again, keep an eye out for Dark Thoughts, they’re definitely one of Philly’s up and coming bands.

Armalite:

I’ve been a fan of Armalite ever since they’ve started, and with a side project of a bunch of very busy people (including Dan Yemin of Paint It Black/Lifetime/Kid Dynamite, Adam from Atom and His Package) a show from them is incredibly rare. This was like their 7th show ever in 10 years, (not many bands I can say I’ve been to more than 50% of their shows) I was pretty stoked to be seeing them at the intimate Golden Tea House kitchen.

After setting up, the band took some time to talk about the benefit, which is actually a benefit for a benefit show where the floors or something collapsed and the place has to undergo some heavy repairs. Holy shit. They joked to keep the jumping up and down to a minimum here, and instead rip out the copper pipes in the wall.

Breaking out Boots And Sneakers, Armalite played a surprisingly straight forward set without a lot of the banter usually found at their shows. It seemed like most people didn’t know any of their songs besides me and one other dude who were shouting along to each word, but people definitely seemed to be digging it.

Playing the majority of their songs (granted they only have 14… one full length and one EP) they even through in a Magnetic Fields cover in there. A tight set, I feel a little spoiled seeing them play twice in a matter of a year… and they got to play one of Philly’s best spots for shows.

Philadelphia’s Holy Mess have been at it for a while now, with a decently sized line of releases under their belt. With their self released latest album Comfort In The Discord, the band shows just how much they’ve evolved over the years.

The biggest change is since their last album Cande Ru Las Degas, the band has become a three piece, yet the songs are just as, possibly even more so melodic than anything they’ve ever written before. Take the incredibly catchy “Spencer Reid” which is probably my favorite on the album with it’s infectious chord progression, it’s clear the band hasn’t missed a beat with their Lawrence Arms/Menzingers influenced style of punk rock. Their tongue in cheek humor is still running strong with song titles parodying NOFX (“Liza and Louisiana”), and opening “It’s All Fun and Games ‘Til Someone Gets Heard…”

Definitely a solid album by one of Philadelphia’s best, if you have a scruffy ass beard, wearing flannel right now, have an Alkaline Trio or Lawrence Arms tattoo somewhere, and are currently drinking a Pabst Blue Ribbon or National Bohemian, you’ll definitely love Comfort In The Discord.

California’s Lagwagon is one of those bands that have been at is since many of you were still learning to wipe yourselves. I first discovered them years ago when I grabbed a copy of their heralded Let’s Talk About Feelings which I played way too much throughout my angsty high school days, and then went through their back catalogue with both Hoss and Double Plaidinum being some of my most played albums. The band evolved a bunch from their early skate punk days when they released Blaze, incorporating slower elements and continued that with the release of Resolve and their self-depreciating I Think My Older Brother Used To Listen To Lagwagon EP. So naturally, their latest album Hang probably continues this direction right? Wrong.

Hang, the first full length in over 9 years from the band, takes a completely different evolutionary direction with it being the thrashiest Lagwagon album to date. Acoustic minute long intro “Burden Of Proof” leads into “Reign”, a solid skate punk jam that is classic Lagwagon, but then from there it’s a solid block of thrashy melodic punk rock… and it’s damn good. Take “The Cog In The Machine”, which may be the heaviest Lagwagon song to date yet easily remains classic Lagwagon. Joey Cape and crew are able to incorporate these new thrash elements without ever really giving up what makes us love Lagwagon to begin with.

Of course, not every song is completely thrashy. “Burning Out In Style” sounds like it could have come off Double Plaidinum while songs like “One More Song” (which I can only imagine they use to as a response to an encore) is one of Lagwagon’s finest ballads complete with a piano breakdown in the middle.

While I will always love the classic skate punk that Lagwagon gave us, and their early albums will definitely hold a special place in my ramp shredding, fist raising, punk rock heart, Hang definitely an amazing album and if a band is going to evolve they may as well do it right the way Lagwagon did.

I didn’t write a list of my favorite albums of 2014, because honestly I didn’t get to listen/review to as many as I would have liked due to being insanely busy… But I was surprised when I read other people’s lists and didn’t really see Swingin’ Utters latest Fistful Of Hollow on there, because it would easily make my favorites list.

San Francisco based Swingin’ Utters have been at it since the late 80s, and if their latest album is any indication, then they certainly haven’t missed a beat. The 9th full length by Swingin’ Utters, Fistful of Hollow contains 15 catchy punk rock anthems. Whether it’s the incredibly Descendents influenced title track “Fistful Of Hollow”, the circle pit inspiring “From The Towers To The Tenaments”, or the anthematic “Tonight’s Moon”, I think Fistful Of Hollow has some of the best songs that Swingin’ Utters have ever written.

The band pulls in some of their slower folk influences as well on sing-along tracks like “Napalm South” and “Tibetan Book Of The Damned”. While not my favorites on the album, they do showcase Swingin’ Utters wide range of influences.

Definitely a fan, Swingin’ Utters seem to be one of those bands that too many punk fans overlook. Don’t be one of them, Fistful Of Hollow slays.